A group of war veterans, former members of the Army of Republika Srpska, the Croatian Army, the Croat Defence Council, the JNA and the Army of RBiH visited Bihać on 11 December 2013.
The visit was organised by the Centre for Nonviolent Action Sarajevo/Belgrade in cooperation with the Veterans Federation of the 1992-1995 Defence-Liberation War in the Una-Sana Canton, the Association of War Medal Holders of the HVO in the Una-Sana Canton, and the Cantonal Federation of Associations of Members of the Army of RBiH and HVO Treated for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
We visited the Shahid Cemetery and ARBiH Memorial at Humci, the Central Memorial to HVO Defenders at the Žegar Catholic Cemetery, the Memorial Room of the ARBiH at the Ribić-Orljani local community and the marked site of strife of Bosniaks from the Ljutočka Valley — the Bezdana pit at Hrgar.
A joint meeting was held where we were joined by representatives of veterans associations of the Army of RBiH and the APZB Popular Defence from Velika Kladuša. The meetings supported the idea of joint visits and meetings of former participants in the wars of the region that contribute to stable peace building through dialogue and through honouring the fallen on all sides.
The meeting of war veterans was also visited by Emdžad Galijašević, Mayor of Bihać. On that occasion, he said it was momentous to gather in one place former enemies to discuss the future and peace building as the only guarantee for prosperity of all the countries in the region and all the peoples living in them.
A.D.